What’s It Like To Be Human? Ghost in the Shell Tells An Ever More Realistic Story
House 1, M+ Cinema, WestK, Tsim Sha Tsui
Why We Recommend it
In an age where AI technology never ceases to advance, M+ Cinema fittingly probes the idea of human consciousness and the soul, with film screenings of Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.
Description
What do The Matrix series, I, Robot and Ghost in the Shell all have in common?
That’s right. Each probes the existential question of what it means to be human — a riddle the greatest philosophers and filmmakers have tried to decipher. Renowned for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, prolific filmmaker Mamoru Oshii is no different.
In M+ Cinema’s back-to-back screenings of Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, that enquiry is pushed to the year 2029 — a time of synthetic bodies and shared consciousness. In an age of neural networks, generative AI and digitally mediated selves, Oshii’s vision feels less prophetic and increasingly more like the present. (And yes, there are scenes heavily modelled after real-life streets, dense architecture and neon-soaked nightscapes based off of Hong Kong).
Released in 1995, Ghost in the Shell tells the story of protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg operative leading Public Security Section 9. Tasked with hunting the Puppet Master — a hacker able to infiltrate human minds — she is drawn into a high-stakes investigation that turns deeply personal, forcing her to question her own “ghost”: her identity, humanity and soul. On 18 October, the first film screening will start at 14:30.
Sounds thrilling? Good, because the action doesn’t cease. Time to put on the seat belt for the 2004 sequel which begins at 16:30. This time, it returns to that grimy cyberpunk world, now set a few years later in 2032. When violent incidents involving prototype androids surface, Section 9 agents Batou and Togusa investigate, arriving at a meditation on consciousness and the ethical obligations of creators toward their creations.
Both screenings are followed by a talk at 18:10 between anime archivist Hiroko Myokam and M+ curator of moving image Ulanda Blair. Conducted in English, the talk will explore the futuristic worlds of Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, drawing on the original background art by one of Japan’s leading art directors in animation, Shuichi Kusamori featured in the M+ special exhibition Myths and Monsters: The Art of Fantasy in Asia.
Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Photo: Oshii Mamoru. Ghost in the Shell, 1995. Courtesy Edko Films.
Details
When: 18 Oct 2026 - 18 Oct 2026 Where: House 1, M+ Cinema – 38 Museum Drive – WestK, Tsim Sha Tsui
